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V10

The question which was recently nagging me for the last few days had perhaps no meaning, or a significant meaning- you never know.Why Tata are such a special Indian automotive company?Has it really made our nation proud?The quest for answer of theis question lead me to this thread, you believe it or not.Now lets get moving shall we and go through this epic journey in all its glories and plight.

Part 1 ---(1954-1969)

Part one of this story begins with Tata's(then Telcos') collaboration with Daimler Benz- The German Powerhouse,with the dawn of independence.This partnership launched its first truck way back in 1954 and continued to taste success till 1969 when Tata decided its time to play alone.Some of chief highlight of this partnership:

Part two of this story begins with confidence of JRD Tata when he decided to move alone in automotive industry,lets look at some of highlights of this era:

1/ 1969 - First Tata branded truck rolls out ,which marked end of an era and beginning of a new one.
2/ In 1977 Tata manufactured its first commercial vehicle at its plant in Pune.
3/ In 1986-Tata launches its first light commercial vehicle from Telco, the Tata 407.

Part 3 - Fly higher and higher(1991-present)

This is the most interesting part of the story.When Tata thought if we can be so successful in commercial sector , then why not enter into passenger automobile sector.

V10

1. Ever heard of Cielo guys, it was a wonderful car of its time,but I am sure you all remember the cute lill' Matiz.Well these products came from Korean giants of the time known as 'Daewoo Motors'.In 2004 this company went bankrupt and Tata tookover its truck division which marked the beginning of series of Global Acquisitions by Tata. Today this company is known as 'Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle'.We have seen Tata produce stunning trucks like "PRIMA" with the help of this takeover.

3. In 2007, Formed a joint venture with 'Marcopolo' of Brazil and introduced low-floor buses in the Indian Market.

4.In 2008, Tata Motors acquired British 'Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)', which includes the Daimler and Lanchester brand names.

5.In 2010, Tata Motors acquired 80% stake in Italy-based design and engineering company Trilix for a consideration of €1.85 million. The acquisition is in line with the company’s objective to enhance its styling/design capabilities to global standards.

2002:[]
Unveiling of the Tata Sedan(INDIGO) at Auto Expo 2002.
Petrol version of Indica V2 launched.
Launch of the EX series in Commercial vehicles.
Launch of the Tata 207 DI.
2,00,000th Indica rolled out.
5,00,000th passenger vehicle rolled out.
Launch of the Tata Sumo'+' Series
Launch of the Tata Indigo.
Tata Engineering signed a product agreement with MG Rover of the UK.

Thank you guys for your remarks.And Mukesh I am glad that you have known an unknown fact about Tata, after all that is exactly the purpose of this thread, to make people more aware about Indian automotve legacy.

PART 5 --- CLIMB THE SIERRA AND WRESTLE THE SUMO

In 1991, Tata were able to launch, India's first lifestyle SUV Tata Sierra with a load of segment first features like 'power steering', 'power windows','rear deffoger','power brakes' etc.This product was completely designed in India and later on formed the basis of DC design's "Aria Concept vehicle".The vehicle first came with 2.0 lt IDI motor which pumped out 68 ps power, later with inclusion of turbo this motor was able to churn out 90 ps power and reached a top speed of 160 kmph.Sierra was discontinued after the launch of Safari,but this SUV still has umpteen fan following who want Tata to launch it again.

In 1992 Tata launched people mover version of Sierra known as "Estate".The next MUV to come out of their portfolio was going to change the game like no other.In 1994 they launched "Tata Sumo" which was named after Mr Sumant Moolgaonkar, (Su-Mo) who was instrumental in a number of revolutionary changes in TELCO and bringing about significant progress.This UV single handedly destroyed Mahindra Armada which was the ruling UV of India then.Sumo sold 1,00,000 units in mearly 3 years after its launch.Today with various variants like Victa,Gold,Grande it is still going strong.

V10

Before bringing this interesting story, may I ask to you,"what are dreams?"Man's innate vision, or his unsatisfied fancies! Have dreams got any creative power,well in this case they had.Way back in 1995 the chairman of Tata Sons,Mr. Ratan Tata, had a dream.A dream to make an affordable small car of footprint of Zen, space of Amby and price of Maruti 800.And "Tata Indica" was the fruition of this dream.Some key highlights of the car were:

In January 1998 , Tata finally unveiled the car and entire nation went beserk.Is this a TATA car?Was the question on every one's mind, until 30th December 1998 when the car was launched.It received more than 1 lac booking just a week after launch, and remained a bestseller in its category for almost a decade.Now with the new gen Vista , TATA have taken Indica moniker to a whole new level, and the car is going still strong.Truely a car that makes us Indians proud.

Honoured Member

Before bringing this interesting story, may I ask to you,"what are dreams?"Man's innate vision, or his unsatisfied fancies! Have dreams got any creative power,well in this case they had.Way back in 1995 the chairman of Tata Sons,Mr. Ratan Tata, had a dream.A dream to make an affordable small car of footprint of Zen, space of Amby and price of Maruti 800.And "Tata Indica" was the fruition of this dream.Some key highlights of the car were:

In January 1998 , Tata finally unveiled the car and entire nation went beserk.Is this a TATA car?Was the question on every one's mind, until 30th December 1998 when the car was launched.It received more than 1 lac booking just a week after launch, and remained a bestseller in its category for almost a decade.Now with the new gen Vista , TATA have taken Indica moniker to a whole new level, and the car is going still strong.Truely a car that makes us Indians proud.

This is what I was really searching for.no doubt the Indica was a revolutionizing car in the Indian auto industry.In fact it was the Indica that showed Indians that:-
Hatches can also run on diesel and
Hatches can also have a big and spacious cabin.
And why to forget that great FE Indica offered?